


For the Sake of a Friend

by fireredlily



Category: MindCrack RPF
Genre: Betrayal, Burns, Dehydration, Exile, Gen, Gore, Imprisonment, M/M, Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-12 00:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2088852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireredlily/pseuds/fireredlily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a prompt from Red-Wolfz on Tumblr (link in story notes). Zisteau was originally a human that was captured by zombie pigmen in the Nether, and eventually became one himself. A few months after his escape to the Overworld, the zombie pigmen decide they want him back, and the Mindcrack server members agree to their demands after they destroy Spawn Village. All except one KurtJMac.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this fic can be found here: http://toboldlyhella.tumblr.com/post/82891955060/imagine

Beef frowned as he watched Kurt finally slump, walking away from the sealed portal. He'd come back every night since they returned Zisteau to the nether, as if hoping that the portal would be open again. Guude had ordered that the FarLander be kept under close watch after he'd begged for them not to send Zisteau back. The green-eyed man had been afraid that Kurt would do something stupid in an attempt to go after him, despite the server-wide orders not to go into the nether.

As he watched Kurt trudge back to his temporary base, the butcher felt sympathy for the FarLander. Like many times before, Beef bit his lip to keep from calling out to Kurt and giving himself away. He would be infuriated to know that he was being spied on, and the butcher still felt guilty about following him every night. It would have been easier if Kurt had reacted as expected, raging and attempting to break the seals on the portal. Watching him break down and wither away like this was so much worse.

Beef wished there were something, anything he could do to help, but the FarLander had rejected him, closing himself off from Beef when he tried to distract him. He was still upset that everyone had ignored him and sent Zisteau back. Beef wasn't sure how much truth there had been to the zombie pigman's story-- a human, turning into a zombie pigman? It seemed impossible. However, Kurt seemed to believe him. The butcher still remembered the clear look of betrayal on his face as the group sent Zisteau back through the portal and into the waiting arms of the zombie pigmen horde.

The hurt in the FarLander's gaze had tugged at Beef's heartstrings, but it was the group's decision. Kurt had pleaded with them, desperate to keep Zisteau from having to go back there. Nobody had listened. Instead, they'd ignored him, and Kurt had collapsed, sobbing, once Zisteau had gone through the portal. Pause and Beef were the ones to hold him back as the others sealed the portal off. He still remembered the undisguised loathing in Kurt's expression as the FarLander proclaimed them to be "monsters" and ran off into the night, unable to be near them anymore.

No, Kurt would not want any comfort the butcher tried to offer him. Beef had messed up any chances he may have had with the FarLander that day. And so, he stayed a respectful distance behind, stealthily following Kurt and protecting him in the only way he could.

Finally, Kurt reached his base, and Beef dropped his face in his hands as the door closed behind him. Seeing a way to start making things right, the butcher made a decision. He wouldn't tell Guude that Kurt had visited the portal again. If he wasn't trying to break through it, then what was the point of their constant surveillance? There wasn't any reason for them to keep watch on him like some sort of criminal.

Beef sighed, the nightly walks taking their toll. If the spying wasn't called off entirely, then Beef would have no choice but to request that someone else take over. It was too painful for him to continue watching the FarLander waste away and retreat back into his shell.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been months since Zisteau went back to the Nether. Kurt still thought of him, missing the excitement in Zisteau's voice as the FarLander pointed out constellations in the night sky. The constant presence of the pigman by his side and their intellectual conversations together had been comforting. Without the companionship, Kurt found himself slipping into his old ways. He could not bear to be around his fellow Mindcrackers after what had happened, and he rarely went out anymore, except to visit the portal in Spawn. It was still sealed off, but Kurt couldn't help but hope that one day Zisteau would come back though.

On his last few visits, he had noticed that the feeling of being watched had subsided, and he finally felt like he was alone again. Kurt let out a relieved sigh, feeling like he could breathe freely for the first time in months. He knew Guude had probably had someone trailing him, to make sure he wouldn't go against the group and try to recover Zisteau. The leader of MindCrack had made his worries perfectly clear when he had all of Kurt's diamonds removed from his inventory, including those stored in his base and the ender chest. And so Kurt had waited, frustrated with the lack of action from the others.

Kurt was certain that any attempt to obtain more diamonds would be met with resistance and interference from his watcher. So the FarLander had stuck to gathering iron, gearing himself up as best he could without arousing suspicion. The constant feeling of being watched chafed, though Kurt had hidden his annoyance well. The person sent to spy on him was not the most stealthy, and while Beef may have thought he was unaware, the truth was that Kurt had chosen not to acknowledge his presence. He had ignored the slip-ups as Beef's footsteps echoed when his own had stopped, and pretended that he was oblivious to the surveillance.

His patience had paid off. Beef had been called off and Guude hadn't bothered with sending anyone else to look after him. The rest of the server probably believed that he had given up on rescuing Zisteau, that he had taken time to grieve and move on. That was a mistake. Kurt was nothing if not determined. The FarLander would not give up on a friend so quickly.

Now that the spying eyes were gone, he could go through with his plan. Hastily crafting an iron pick, Kurt gathered everything he would need for his trip to the lower levels of his mining cave, as well as things he might want if he ended up heading straight to the Nether afterwards. He packed several pieces of steak and, upon reflection, a stack of watermelon slices in case he ran low. His armor was all layered with Protection I enchantments and the iron felt heavy against the FarLander's body as he equipped it. Kurt just hoped it was enough for his search, as well as what would follow if he succeeded.

It would have to be. Kurt was tired of waiting. The FarLander took one last look at his home before leaving, closing the door behind him. Kurt's feet carried him in swift, sure strides and in moments, he had arrived at his destination. Standing at the mouth of the cave, Kurt squared his shoulders and descended into the caves to search for diamonds.


	3. Chapter 3

The search for diamonds was much more daunting than he expected. Kurt had refrained from venturing too far into the depths, so that he couldn't be accused of being at diamond level and gain an even closer watch. As a result, the lower sections of the caverns were completely unexplored and full of hostile mobs. He'd wasted more arrows than he wanted fighting off skeletons and creepers, and had taken a fair bit of damage. Natural regeneration had saved him many times, but he was slowly chipping away at his food. Digging down a few more blocks, Kurt let out a sigh of relief as he dug into a cave near a lava pool.

The FarLander laid down enough cobble to make a path across it, and a broad grin formed on his face as Kurt spotted exposed diamond ore on the other side. He swung his iron pickaxe with heavy strikes, breaking the diamonds free of the blocks quickly. He laid them across the crafting table, building a diamond pickaxe that he could use to collect any naturally occurring obsidian. Kurt hefted his new diamond pick over his shoulder as he listened for the sound of running water. Finding it, the FarLander dashed his way over, placing blocks strategically to direct the current to the exposed lava pool.

As the sizzle of cooling obsidian filled the air, Kurt lifted his pickaxe, preparing to rain down heavy blows on the newly created obsidian blocks. The weight of the pickaxe, combined with the force of the strikes caused his weary arms to tremble, but he brought down the pickaxe several times in a straight line as he broke apart the dark rocks. Finally, he placed down the obsidian in a rectangle, brandishing his flint and steel as the portal came alive with a hum. Kurt felt his stomach clench as he stepped into the purple light. It was time to get Zisteau back.

When Kurt finally stepped through the other side of the portal, he smiled. Despite the sweltering heat of the place, he felt lighter at the thought that he might be able to see Zisteau again. Zombie pigmen milled about, a few of them glancing at him curiously, but they paid him no mind as he walked peacefully among them, searching for one of their number. When he spotted the brown leather of the 'man pants' as Zisteau had called them, he felt like his heart might burst with relief. "Zisteau!"

The call grabbed the attention of the pigmen, but Zisteau didn't respond, continuing to to walk around aimlessly. The FarLander approached his leather-clad friend, reaching out a hand to tap his shoulder when it seemed he hadn't heard him. Stoic blue and green eyes met his as the pigman whirled around, and Kurt's smile fell at the lack of recognition in them. Zisteau let out a "Uweek!" at the intrusion, and the FarLander's vision went black as he felt the hilt of a sword hit his head from behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt opened his eyes slowly as he came back to awareness, feeling the rough grip of the two zombie pigmen who were dragging him forward. His 3d glasses were gone, and the FarLander decided they had probably fallen off sometime earlier. He frowned as he took in the state of his pants, frayed and torn from the constant dragging of his legs against the ground. When Kurt groaned aloud, one of them glanced at him, glaring when he tried to get back on his feet. The FarLander was roughly shoved down to his knees again, and they continued dragging him forward, not giving him a chance to respond. Kurt's head was muddled, and his thoughts swam as he tried to recall what had happened to leave him at the mercy of the zombie pigmen. His heart clenched as he remembered spotting Zisteau, and the squeal he had let out, calling the other zombie pigmen to him.

Zisteau had forgotten him. No, not just him. It seemed like Zisteau had deteriorated entirely, the primal urges of the zombie pigman finally overcoming him after so many years. There was still that faint spark of intelligence in his eyes, but there was no warmth there. The months that Zisteau had spent in the nether alone after the group had sent him back through had taken their toll. He would not be getting any help from Zisteau.

In a way, Kurt felt that was fair, though the realization hurt. What had anyone done to help Zisteau? Even Kurt, with all his pleading and words, had not done nearly enough. He should have acted, should have attacked his fellow Mindcrackers when words weren't enough. There must have been something, anything Kurt could have done to keep Zisteau from being sent away. But the FarLander was not a violent person. Attacking others was not in his nature, so when words failed, he gave up. Just like Zisteau had apparently given up on him.

Kurt dimly heard the sound of glass breaking near him, and little particles of colored light drifted up as the overwhelming heat faded to a soothing warmth. Before he had time to wonder why the zombie pigmen were using Fire Resistance potions, he was in the lava, kicking his legs in a panic as the two dragged him forward, treading through it as though it were water. After several long minutes, Kurt found himself propelled out of the lava onto a small island.

Looking around, the FarLander noticed that the 'island' was actually an iron-barred cage set in the center of a lava lake. A small patch of soul sand made up the ground beneath his feet, and he felt the overbearing warmth of the lava lake as the Fire Resistance potion wore off. He rapidly shrugged off his trench-coat, putting it against the ground as he tried to make himself comfortable and cool down.

His shoes and socks followed, as did his tie. The shirt and pants he kept on for the sake of decency, though he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. The bottom of his pants were already ripped and torn just below the knees from where he had been dragged against the netherrack. Alone for the first time since his entrance into the Nether, Kurt checked his pockets. The FarLander bit his lip as he noticed that his inventory had been completely cleared, likely by the pigmen when they knocked him unconscious.

Kurt sat down on the ground, berating himself for going into the Nether alone. Granted, none of the others would have let him get through the portal if they'd come along, but the chances of one of them knowing what he'd done was slim. Rolling over to lie on his side, Kurt closed his eyes to try and sleep. Low chances or not, he needed to do what he could to survive, in case help did come.


	5. Chapter 5

Days had passed with no sign of life, other than the odd zombie pigman coming by to check that he was still there. They fed him scraps of food when they came, mostly chicken or beef that they'd probably taken off of him when he arrived, but there was no real water to be had-- only a few paltry slices of watermelon, given to Kurt once a day. It was all the FarLander could do to keep his eyes open most days, as weak as his body was becoming without any real sustenance. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed since he had come to the Nether, but he suspected his confiscated food supplies were running low. The food he was given came in smaller and smaller portions each time.

Had anyone even noticed he was gone? The small seed of doubt in his mind grew and festered with each time he awoke to the familiar sight of his enclosure. Someone must be coming after him. They just hadn't found him yet. The other Mindcrackers wouldn't just abandon him to the Nether if they knew he was gone... right? Kurt tried not to think about the fact that they had done just that to Zisteau. Beef, Guude, and the others wouldn't just leave him trapped here to die. Kurt repeated that same thought over and over again, until the words started to sound false to his own ears.

By then, the zombie pigmen had stopped bringing him food, only delivering small pieces of watermelon when he was asleep. The FarLander felt more distant than ever, denied even that small bit of interaction. Kurt was left to wonder how much time had passed, isolated and ignored in his waking moments. After several sleep cycles, the FarLander had resigned himself to the fact that help wasn't coming. It seemed like several months must have passed now, if not longer, and his body was growing weaker everyday. He could scarcely move without feeling overwhelming pain, and even the soul sand beneath his feet seemed to have lost any moisture it might have once held.

Kurt's body wasn't handling the extreme heat of the nether well. With no access to water other than the few slices of watermelon he'd been given, his body had sweat frequently in an attempt to cool him down. However, the scorching heat of the nether had evaporated most of the water in a steaming hiss, leaving painful pink burns in their wake. Clumps of skin had bulged outwards from the salt left behind, causing his body to look patched together, a mixture of normal and burnt skin, though the normal skin was rapidly becoming discolored due to the accumulation of dirt and soul sand. A soft snort sounded somewhere close by, and Kurt blinked as a bundle of nether-wart was dropped in front of him.

Food. His tired mind identified the object immediately as a source of sustenance, even though the FarLander wouldn't think of eating nether-wart in other circumstances. Kurt's stomach growled, and he reached forward hungrily, hands grasping the nether-wart as he brought it to his mouth. It felt unusually slimy in his hands, but he was too starved to care if it had been tainted. At least then he might get some sleep, if it knocked him unconscious. He barely registered that the zombie pigman had left before licking his dry lips and opening his mouth to chew on the slimy mushrooms.

"Kurt, don't eat that!" A human-sounding voice reached his ears, and Kurt dropped the nether-wart in surprise, looking around. His 3d glasses had been dumped on the ground during his capture, so the FarLander was forced to squint as the heat blurred his vision. When he spotted the familiar face, Kurt attempted to speak, but it only came out as a weak rasping noise, causing his rescuer to curse.

"Shit, you're further gone than I thought."


	6. Mini-Chapter (Zisteau's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a mini-chapter, so to speak. An interlude to peek in on what some of the other characters are doing, so it's fairly short.

Zisteau cocked his head to the side in curiosity as he spotted the strange object on the ground. It looked to be some form of eye-covering, but the lenses were red and blue and the handles were made of a white plastic material.

The zombie pigman picked them up and turned them every which way in his hands as a faint memory tugged at his brain. The human who had called out to him had been wearing these. A strange fashion choice, and surely the like had never been seen in the Nether before the human's arrival.

So why did it feel like he had seen these before?

Turning to look at the lava lake, the zombie pigman headed towards it, intent on asking the human about the odd plastic thing in his hands.


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt licked his lips, trying to speak again, but the voice cut in before he could open his mouth. "No, don't try to talk. It'll only make it worse until we can get you some water." His rescuer waved off his surprise, attacking the bars with a single-minded determination. The FarLander watched him cautiously, still very confused as to the other man's presence.

Vechs was floating in the lava next to his cage, orange swirls floating above him as he mined away at the iron bars. Kurt watched him in confusion, and Vechs frowned, understanding what he had wanted to ask.

"You're thinking 'Why Vechs, right?' Why am I the one here right now? Why isn't anyone else with me?" Vechs continued to chip away at the bars while he spoke. "I just got back from working on a new Super Hostile map, and I logged on to tell Z about it. Imagine my surprise when I found out he'd gone back to the Nether!"

Vechs grit his teeth as he remembered the confrontation he had with the others. "Guude tried to make it sound like he was just visiting, gathering supplies, and that he'd be back soon. So I waited around for a few hours and decided to pay a visit to a few other people on the server." The mapmaker had wandered around Spawn for a bit, and he had been surprised to find that the Nether Portal was blocked off.

"Guude had run off somewhere, so I asked the next person I saw what was going on with the blocked portal. Zisteau wouldn't be able to get back through if something went wrong and he didn't have his pick." The mapmaker bobbed patiently in the lava as he continued his tale, careful not to interrupt his block breaking.

"Beef was pretty distraught when I caught up with him. Told me about how they'd sent Zisteau back, and how worried he was about you. He mentioned that nobody ever saw you anymore, that you were avoiding them." When the bars were broken in a 2-high section,  
Vechs propelled himself up onto the soul sand, practically snarling as he recalled the events that had led him to the Nether.

"So I went looking for you. And you were gone. A layer of dust was covering everything in your base, and nothing looked like it'd been touched for months. And not a single person figured it out, because they were too cowardly to approach you after what they did. They didn't even realize you were missing." Vechs's voice was cold with anger at this point, and he let out an annoyed sigh. He stepped inside the cage, letting out a sharp hiss as he assessed the damage done to Kurt.

The FarLander's signature 3d glasses were missing, and his trench-coat lay in tatters on the ground. Kurt must have used it to soften the area while he was sleeping. The red tie was covered in teethmarks and discolored from where Kurt had bit down on it as a makeshift gag to prevent from gnashing his teeth due to the pain of the burned skin covering his body. Kurt's shoes were dirty and half-buried under the soul sand, and the socks were nowhere to be found. Kurt's shirt, once bearing long sleeves, was now torn at the shoulders, leaving his arms exposed to the open air, and his pants were ripped at the knees.

Kurt looked far too thin, skin stretched against bone. His face was gaunt and emaciated. Vechs doubted that his captors had bothered to feed him more than was necessary to survive. Kurt had been fairly muscular before due to his treks in search of the FarLands, but the muscles appeared to have atrophied quite badly. Kurt would probably have to do some lengthy physical therapy to regain the lost muscle mass. The FarLander himself was covered in sand and dirt, and Vechs could see where patches of burnt skin were a shiny pink.

He breathed out a sigh of relief at the indication of healing flesh, despite the likeliness of an infection setting in. "You're still regenerating, but slowly. Once we get back to the OverWorld, we should be able to reverse the damage." Kurt frowned, confused, and Vechs explained his reasoning as he gathered Kurt's tattered things, stowing them away safely.

"Nether-wart isn't meant to be consumed by humans, Kurt. It… does things to your physiology. Regeneration stops, flesh gets cut of from healing and rots away. Your bones grow faster and harder, sometimes sticking out of your body. You get increased strength as a result, and the nether-wart does provide natural fire resistance, but… your physical nature becomes… different. Your body adapts, changes, until you become a zombie pigman."

Vechs wasn't looking at Kurt anymore, so he didn't see the horror on the FarLander's face as he continued. "Like Zisteau." The mapmaker let out a deep sigh, biting his lip as he looked back at Kurt, gesturing for him to stand. "I'm just glad I wasn't too late. Can you walk?" When Kurt struggled to rise to his feet, Vechs pulled him up the rest of the way, leaning the FarLander against the iron bars. "Right. Hold on a second."

Vechs reached into the utility pouches along his belt, fishing out some glass bottles filled with liquid, both orange and dark red. Fire Resistance and Strength potions, Kurt noted absently as Vechs handed over the bottles.The FarLander drank them both swiftly, watching his companion drink a Fire Resistance potion of his own. The glass bottles were chucked away as the pair gingerly dipped into the lava, potions granting them protection from the boiling heat. The strength potion gave Kurt's weakened body the ability to move normally, and he easily kept up with Vechs as the mapmaker swam forward towards a speck of land in the distance.


	8. Mini-Chapter (Zisteau's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a mini-chapter of sorts, meant to keep you up to date on what Zisteau's doing. It's short.

The cage was in the middle of the lake, and there was no way out except through the lava on the sides. His mind supplied that a human would burn to death long before they were able to reach the nearest landmass, but then, why were the bars opened on one side and the cage left empty? Had the human been so eager to throw himself to his death in the lake? But, no, that didn't seem right. He had been told about these humans, about their unyielding will to survive and fight another day.

He looked around curiously, and paused as his gaze found something out of place. The Nether was all red and brown in coloration, so when he saw a blue spot in the distance it stuck out like a sore thumb. Maybe the human was there? His fellow pigmen had been vague about why they were keeping the human caged in the first place. Something about expanding the horde, and frail human bodies not suited to living in the Nether.

When he had asked where the human had come from, the zombie pigmen he called his brethren had clammed up, only saying that it was a horrible place, where the world was open to the sky which seemed to never end, and that the sky regularly attacked the ground-dwellers with clear liquid and painful, electrifying beams of light that only had a brief clap of sound as a warning before they struck.

The human would be much safer here, where the sky was closed off and the horde was protected from its wrath.

Shaking his head free of the confusing thoughts, Zisteau returned to the lava, making his way towards the landmass where he had seen the blue speck.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt could faintly see a purple glow emitting from the nether portal as the two finally reached the island, climbing onto the shore just as the potion ran out. "We need to get you out of here before the zombie pigmen realize you're missing. Let's go." Kurt shook his head, holding his ground as the mapmaker tried to push him towards the portal.

He licked his lips and swallowed, forcing out a syllable as his throat protested. "Z." He'd come here to find and bring back Zisteau. Kurt would not let this whole trip be a waste. He wasn't leaving without Zisteau, whether Vechs liked it or not. Catching the stubborn expression on Kurt's face, Vechs closed his eyes for a moment before putting a hand on the FarLander's left shoulder.

"Kurt, I don't want to leave Pigderp behind either, believe me! But he's regressed. You saw it, didn't you? He doesn't know how to be human anymore. It would be too dangerous to bring him back right now, especially with you this injured. Once the Strength potion wears off, I doubt you'll be able to move more than a few steps without help." Kurt sat down on the ground, unable to protest vocally as his throat went completely dry again. Vechs ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated as he thought through their options.

Bringing Zisteau back in his current state was not an option, even if they could find him and lure him away from the rest of the zombie pigmen. They would have to take it slow, spark his memory and see if they could coax out the old Zisteau first. It was too risky to take him back before he became self-aware, as there was still a chance Zisteau could turn hostile on them. If that happened... Vechs shuddered as he finished the thought in his head.

If Zisteau turned hostile, then he would have no choice but to kill the zombie pigman or die trying, and he didn't know what re-spawning in this state would do to Zisteau's mind. Resolved in his decision, Vechs turned to the FarLander, looking him in the eyes as he spoke as seriously as he could, willing Kurt to understand.

"I promise you, Kurt, we are not going to leave Zisteau in the Nether. We *will* be coming back. But right now…" Vechs put a hand to the burnt flesh on the FarLander's skin, causing Kurt to wince at the pain. Kurt looked straight at Vechs, letting him know that he was listening, even if he didn't like what he was hearing.

"Right now, we need to get you healed, and the quickest way to do that is to go home."

Feeling the weariness set in as the Strength Potion began to wear off, Kurt nodded reluctantly. Vechs wrapped an arm around his waist to support him, careful not to press against the sensitive skin. Kurt leaned against him, resting some of his weight on Vechs with relief, and the pair stepped through the portal together.


	10. Chapter 10

When Vechs and Kurt stepped through the portal at Spawn, there was a sizable crowd waiting.

"Shit. What the hell happened to you, dude?" Pause hadn't believed Kurt's story about Zisteau originally being human, but he was starting to have doubts now. The FarLander's appearance was too close to the halfway-point between human and zombie pigman for comfort, and Pause looked at Vechs for an explanation when Kurt remained silent.

Vechs frowned, snapping at the group. "What does it look like? Kurt got nabbed by the zombie pigmen and was nearly assimilated into the horde, thanks to you all! He was almost in there too long for it to be reversible, because you wouldn't get off your high horses and help him go after Zisteau!"

Pause frowned, not liking the implication that he would leave a friend to rot if he needed their help. "Dude, chill, we didn't know that he needed saving!" Several other voices chimed in with agreement, uncomfortable with Vechs' accusation.

The green goggles glinted dangerously as Vechs lowered Kurt to the ground, leaning the FarLander against the cool cobblestone from the fountain. Once Kurt was settled, Vechs was up like a shot, getting in the assembled Mindcrackers' faces as they claimed ignorance.

"It's been months, and you didn't even notice that Kurt was GONE!" Vechs turned away, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm down. "Fuck. You don't even understand how close we came to losing him. If I hadn't gotten there when I did, we'd have another Zisteau on our hands!"

Beef had run towards Kurt as soon as he came through the portal, and he looked up towards Vechs, pausing in his attempts to bottle some desperately-needed water from the fountain for Kurt to drink. He noticed the FarLander flinch at the reminder, and sent him a reassuring smile as he spoke to Vechs. "But it can be reversed, right?"

Doc stepped forward, inspecting Kurt's wounds and casting a curious glance towards Vechs. "Looks like the worst of it is some nasty burns and malnutrition. If we keep him fed, he should recover naturally on his own, and we can help heal the scarring faster with some potions." Etho nodded in agreement, handing over several bottles of Instant Healing to use for the worst of the injuries.

Vechs spoke again, unwilling to deal with the Mindcrack members at the moment, but understanding the necessity of communication if Kurt was going to recover. "I gave him a Strength potion while we were in the Nether, and that will probably wear off soon. Someone will have to help him along until he regains some of his natural strength. He could barely stand when I got him out of the cage they were keeping him in."

Beef had shifted so that Kurt could lean against him at this point, and he wrapped his arms gingerly around the FarLander, as if claiming that role in Kurt's recovery. He was whispering soft words of apology in the other man's ear, and Kurt seemed willing to forgive him, if his half-hearted shrug was any indication. Vechs tightened his expression and turned back to Guude. The mapmaker felt that Kurt was far more forgiving than Beef deserved, but was unwilling to press the issue if Kurt felt comfortable with the butcher.

Guude frowned at Vechs' description of Kurt's plight and gestured for him to elaborate. "The zombie pigmen were keeping him locked in a cage?"  
"So he wouldn't escape, yeah. A small iron-barred cell in the middle of a lava lake. Even if he'd been able to break the bars, Kurt would have burned to death before making it back to the portal."  
"And you're sure none of them saw you leave? Maybe we should block up the portal again to keep the zombie pigmen from retaliating. Last time, they wrecked Spawn because Zisteau was missing. Who knows what they'll do this time, now that you've taken Kurt right from under their noses!"

Vechs moved to protest, and Kurt sat up in alarm, shaking off Beef's arms as he disagreed with the idea. However, before either could vocalize their thoughts, a bubbling sound successfully gained the group's undivided attention.

The sudden sound of the portal activating made the gathering tense, and Guude nervously turned his gaze back to the portal as a zombie pigman came through it. A zombie pigman wearing a very familiar pair of leather pants. Kurt was staring at him in exhausted relief, but it was Vechs who spoke the words on his mind.

"Zisteau?"


	11. Chapter 11

Curious eyes tracked Zisteau's movement with trepidation, but the zombie pigman didn't show any signs of recognition, and did not appear to be hostile. Instead, Zisteau made a beeline towards Kurt, causing Beef to narrow his eyes in suspicion. Pause readied his bow behind him, prepared to shoot if it looked like Zisteau was going to attack, or attempt to bring Kurt back into the Nether.

Instead, the zombie pigman let out a soft whuffing noise before holding out a familiar pair of 3d glasses. Kurt's 3d glasses. Vechs giggled a bit at the hilarity of it, carefully taking the glasses from Zisteau. The mapmaker moved slowly, and let out a sigh of relief as he placed the glasses back on Kurt, who was looking at Zisteau in amazement. The zombie pigman had not moved after delivering the glasses, content to observe these humans, and Zisteau was surprised to hear the now bespectacled human speak to him as his gaze passed over him.

"I was certain I'd lost these for good. Thank you."

At the sound of Kurt's voice, Zisteau jerked in confusion. Pause tightened his grip on the bow, but Zisteau didn't move from his position. The zombie pigman felt his chest constrict unpleasantly. He took in several steadying breaths as he heard that voice ringing in his head, soft and breathless as a human pointed out unfamiliar lights in the night sky. The human had been whole then, not burned and weak and hurting. He looked different now, but this was still the same human. His racing mind supplied him with a name before he could make sense of it. Kurt. This human was the one that called himself 'Kurt.'

Still sorting through his thoughts, Zisteau turned to look at the man standing in front of Kurt. The zombie-pigmen was startled by the familiarity of the tall man with his bright red hat and green goggles. Almost immediately, experiences came to mind that he knew with sudden clarity were real. Zisteau saw himself running through crowds of monsters in unusual dungeons, searching for colored blocks of something the humans called 'wool'. The zombie pigman hunted for these pieces of wool and stacked them on a monument, as though it were some sort of trophy for his achievements.

Super Hostile, the man, no, Vechs, had called it. It was his grand experiment, a gauntlet of sorts to determine Zisteau's skills and strength, as well as give him an opportunity to quench his thirst for battle.

Looking around the rest of the group, the identities of the men became more familiar. Beef was the one holding Kurt and feeding him water and Pause was one aiming a bow at him, ready to defend Kurt and the others if he became hostile. Guude was the one watching him nervously, BdoubleO and GenerikB right at his side. Etho stood near Guude, looking ready to pounce at a moment's notice, and Nebris stood shoulder to shoulder with the ninja. The rest of the group had circled around him, and as he looked at each of them, names appeared in his head. Doc. MCGamer. Arkas. Jsano. Pakratt. Millbee. Mhykol. Adlington. Baj. BTC. 

Finally, heard his own name being called out, by humans that had been around long before these. Humans that were already gone, having moved on without him. Zisteau recalled the tight grip as two zombie pigmen dragged him into the Nether and shoved him into that tiny cage at the center of the lava lake. The same cage that had been holding Kurt until just recently.

The zombie pigman saw himself with human hands and skin, weakly bringing a bundle of slimy mushrooms to his mouth to eat. He felt the phantom aches of pain that seemed to never end, heard the sound of flesh rotting and bones piercing skin. Finally, Zisteau saw his human features vanish, becoming more like the zombie pigmen that called the Nether home as time passed. He recalled his curiosity driving him to follow the first human he saw into the portal, and the joy he felt upon returning to the green grass and blue sky of the Overworld, but it was not to last.

In Zisteau's mind, he felt Guude pushing him towards the portal as he went back towards the Nether, unresisting. Unwilling to be responsible for the destruction he'd seen rained upon Spawn Village. He felt the lump in his throat form as regret crept in, watched Kurt shout and push against the two humans holding the FarLander back. As his vision became filled with the purple of the nether portal, Zisteau saw the look of crushing despair on Kurt's face as the human collapsed. His heart clenched as Kurt hid his face in his hands and his eyes leaked with tears.

Zisteau had vowed then and there to never be the cause of such suffering again. The FarLander's tears haunted his thoughts. It was the last thing he saw before the Nether reclaimed him and ravaged his memories, intent on keeping him for good. The Nether, and the zombie pigmen that called it home, had done their best to keep Zisteau busy and isolated from the human world. The zombie pigmen had failed by allowing Kurt to find him, and they had imprisoned the FarLander, hoping to fix the situation before Zisteau had a chance to regain his memories.

It was a fool's hope. Just like that first time, when he had followed a human through the portal to the Overworld, Zisteau had left the Nether. Both times, it had been Kurt who had led him out of the Nether, whether the FarLander intended it or not. It was always Kurt, whose very presence somehow drew Zisteau to him like a moth was drawn to a flame. Memories spilled into the zombie pigman's head like an overturned pitcher of milk, and all of the nagging inconsistencies that had been taunting him seemed to click into place.

He remembered.

Zisteau dropped his sword, walking forward as he steadily ignored the gazes that were assessing him, trying to see if he was a threat. The assembled Mindcrackers held their breaths as one when the zombie pigman dropped to his knees in front of Kurt, reaching out to hold one of the FarLander's hands in his own. Zisteau cleared his throat, gulping before speaking in perfect English.

"I'm here, Kurt. I'm home."


End file.
